My current work in progress:

Relentless

So much so that when I pulled the Peacock Feathers out at the train station this morning at 5:11 a.m., my hands were immediately too hot and sticky to knit. Eeeew!

A couple of people have commented recently about knitting speed. Esther asked if I could post some tips for completng things quickly.

So, here’s a typical weekday for me:

4:35am: I am up, showered, and dressed for work. Sick, I know. I sit on the side of the bed, watch the early news and knit until 4:57am, at which time I head out to the train station. Sometimes Lucy “helps” me with this (like this morning), sometimes she doesn’t.

5:11 am: I’m at the train station and the board says my train will be here in 4 minutes — time to bang out a couple of pattern repeats.

5:15 am: I knit on train until about 5:45 am, when I have to change trains.

Then, no knitting until lunchtime. I knit for a half hour at lunch, barring any work atrocities.

In the summer, I usually don’t knit on the trip going home — the train is usually packed with tourists so there isn’t the space.

In the evening, I generally knit a couple of hours (with some interruptions) — 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

So adding it all up, that’s about 3.5 hours in a “normal” day. A fair chunk of time. So my tip for speed knitting is persistence. Knit a few stitches whenever you’ve got a few minutes of spare time. It really adds up. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t think I’m a particularly fast knitter — I’m just a persistent one.

I’m curious: How many hours per day do you knit on a weekday?

Peacock Feathers Update

I’ve finished the last chart. I’ve found this last chart to be the most enjoyable one in the pattern, for some reason.

Possibly because it’s got the most openwork.

After the agony of the crochet chain, I’ll embark on the Shetland Garden Faroese Shawl.

Fear not, Snow. Song of Hiawatha is still in the line-up. And the Spider Queen? A definite maybe.

Lucy

Miss Lucy partook of the organic catnip this evening. And then she did this:

Comments

I knit 3 mousies this weekend – 2 for gifts, but Sheba whooped it up with her mousie so it was a big hit. I looked at the Silvia Harding site and found a really nice aphgan pattern there as well as the shawl. A good find – thanks!

Your Peacock is great and I see that you have made variegated yarn work for you. I am jealous.

I started Melanie – had problems, frogged and now find myself resistent to starting over.
I took the band-Aides off my fingers and find I have more dexterity,(dahh), now for grabbing the YO’s that get away from me. Me, knitting lace is like watching a train wreck. But I am trying.

You’ve made my day!
I had a feeling you were going to mention persistence or gumption or focus.
I bought myself the ‘Song of Hiawatha’ Stole kit from Blackberry Ridge after you listed it as a choice to make. Love it.
We’re supposed to hit 34 degrees celsius here tomorrow! I knit in my basement after work.
Thanks again. I did want some magical answer, but I realize you are right about being persistent.
It’s wonderful to block something, instead of just starting too many things.
Tina in 20 days! Amazing!
Thanks again.

I’m in that less than 1 hour a day group – and considering the heat sometimes it is less than 1 hour a week! Your peacock is beautiful. I’ve never made lace and I have a request. Could you please take a picture of the shawl with something that will help us see the size of the stitches? Like maybe put your hand or a coin next to the needles? I feel like I’m missing something by not being able to see just how fine the stitches are. Thanks. Fancy

I think I’m a relatively fast knitter, or at least persistent. I just get too many projects going at once. I need to focus on one, maybe two at a shot to get things done in a more timely fashion. Of course, in order to be truly persistent, one must completely abandon all forms of housework. The dust bunnies may attack one of these days, but surely I could pluck them and spin their fur, right?

A tip for doing the crocheted loops. make up a little song with a beat for each sc: doop, doop, doop, doop, doop, doop, doop, badoop(connection to knitting), etc. It helps me to count while going fast to get it over with. I have made many knitted lace doilys with crocheted loop finish and this helped me.

Peacock looks fabulous. I hope you will show us your “crochet cast off” in progress. I would like to learn the technique.
The Shetland Garden Faroese is exactly the pattern I have been searching for. Thank you for the source.
Will you actually wear your shawls? I enjoy wearing them in air conditiond restaurants etc. draped to show off the lace!!

persistence, is indeed the key.
When people freak out about *ALL* the knitting I do…
(how LONG did THAT take?! makes my teeth ache)
I point out that pretty much Every Day for Forty years
means eventually I will have some finished objects to admire 😉
Lots and LOTS of UFO’s,
but eventually
it all gets done or frogged
or whatever.
A girlz gotta do what a girlz gotta do.
The poodles are ROFL at Lucy’s picture….
such a party animal 😉

A-B-C
I am not the fastest knitter in the world, but my knitting group and I have been using the A-B-C method of prioritizing our projects, so we get something done for a change. (Like everyone else, a new project always seems WAY more interesting than the old).

“A” projects are the ones you really want or need to get done (with a real or self-imposed deadline — like finishing a summer top now, or a gift). “B” projects become “A’s” as the A’s get done. This could be something for the fall — it may or may not be on the needles. “C” projects are ‘in-the-bag wannabes’ that may or may not make the cut depending on what new projects come along. Your stash is “D” — may never see the light of day!!

Most of us have two projects going at once — one for home knitting and mindless knitting for take along. I think all of us who are doing this have seen a lot more progess and actual finished items. It is really just Wendy’s perseverence formula, but we ask each other — what is your A Project right now?

This was my first morning commuting in from the new house–way out in the boonies. I drive to the parking lot, hop on a bus that drops me off at a Metro stop, then metro in. Anyway. the most pleasant thought I had about it was, “Golly–plenty of commuting knit-time now! I should be able to get more FO’s!” That’s a great way of looking at a commute that just got doubled in duration. My last knit-related thought, “must remember to throw knitting in a tote because you waste less knitting time required by the backpack.” Heh.

LOVE the latest Lucy picture. And this weekend I realized the Kitty Pi pattern is calling out to me again. Muffin needs a kitty bed for when she’s hiding in my new closet.

I too get a lot of knitting done on my commute (except for the weeks I have to drive). It seems to really make the time go quickly and it isn’t wasted time that way. Peacock Feathers is looking wonderful and Lucy looks very content.

Down time at work out of the office e.g. waiting with patients in clinics and standing in line at the pharmacy.
Kiddo’s bath – no urge to hurry him out!
Sleeping time (bad idea for long term functioning)

Sometimes it’s about three hours in a day (then I don’t sleep!), sometimes it’s maybe an hour total in a week.

Charts. You’ve mentioned charts so this is semi-related. I’ve used charts, but not until now has one chart contained all sizes and parts of a garment. I found one book with an explanation and it doesn’t work out, unless the first stitch is not supposed to be the same color as the last stitch. Do you start with (for example) “back,” work through the “repeat” section until you run out of a complete number of stitches for a repeat, then work the “back” stitches on the chart portion labeled “end”? Sorry this is long.

I have a chart question for you. When reading a Fiddlesticks chart for example, where they only chart half the row and then you follow back the other way for the other half – do you do mirror image decreases/increases? If the first half has a / to mean k2tog, do you do a SSK on the second half or just another k2tog?

That is one of my favorite pics of Lucky yet. I really need to get to some cat bed knitting. Our second new kitten is coming home tonight. Bella is just younger than our 4 month old Ty who already lives with us. She was rescued from the shelter on the day she was scheduled to be put down. I bet the two of them would love kitty beds like the fabulous Lucy.

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